First BanCorp reports $22M in 2Q16 net income

First BanCorp, the bank holding company for FirstBank Puerto Rico, on Tuesday reported net income of $22 million for the second quarter of 2016, or $0.10 per diluted share, compared to $23.3 million, or $0.11 per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2016 and a net loss of $34.1 million, or $0.16 per diluted share, for the second quarter of 2015.

The financial results included several items not expected to reoccur with regularity, including losses on debt securities, primarily Puerto Rico government debt securities, of $6.7 million and $13.1 million in the first quarter of 2016 and the second quarter of 2015, respectively; a gain of $4.2 million on the repurchase and cancellation of trust preferred securities in the first quarter of 2016; a loss of $48.7 million ($29.7 million after-tax) on a bulk sale of assets in the second quarter of 2015, mostly comprised of non-performing and adversely classified commercial loans, including transaction expenses; and costs of $2.6 million ($1.6 million after-tax) in the second quarter of 2015 related to the conversion of loan and deposit accounts acquired from Doral Bank to the FirstBank systems.

First BanCorp President Aurelio Alemán discussed the results Tuesday, saying “the franchise continues to perform strong in spite of macro challenges, with improved loan origination and renewal volume in all loan categories and in all of our regions.”

He also expressed optimism about the passing of the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA), which he said “is a positive step toward reducing the uncertainty that has clouded our market over a prolonged period. We are optimistic that PROMESA will provide a more stable and constructive framework for dealing with the Puerto Rico debt restructuring and economic challenges still ahead of us.”

“Definitely the expected impact on economic growth long-term should have a positive impact on great quality and growth in the future. Our direct exposure to the targeted debt that will be in periods is basically relatively low when we look at the overall exposure that we have to bond in Puerto Rico,” he said.